Endophenotypes for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Extending Our Reach into the Preclinical Stages of Disease.

ABSTRACT: The key to reducing the individual and societal burden of age-related macular degeneration (AMD)-related vision loss, is to be able to initiate therapies that slow or halt the progression at a point that will yield the maximum benefit while minimizing personal risk and cost. There is a critical need to find clinical markers that, when combined with the specificity of genetic testing, will identify individuals at the earliest stages of AMD who would benefit from preventive therapies. These clinical markers are endophenotypes for AMD, present in those who are likely to develop AMD, as well as in those who have clinical evidence of AMD. Clinical characteristics associated with AMD may also be possible endophenotypes if they can be detected before or at the earliest stages of the condition, bu

SUBMITTER: Gorin MB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4284143 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature